Swap Falls
by Sola Haze
Summary: The story of my new au, Swap Falls, where Mabel finds the Journal, Stan got sucked into the portal, Gideon is rich, and Pacifica is a psychic. Check out my au on Deviantart (hannahthepadawan) see what happens when things are swapped! T rating for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**This is for my AU, Swap Falls, where Mabel found the Journal, Stan was pulled into the portal, Gideon is rich and Pacifica is a psychic. My Deviantart is** **hannahthepadawan** **, and you can find everything about the au there, but for now, I've decided to write some stuff on it to help me figure it out myself, and it's fun, so here's chapter one. Enjoy~**

* * *

 _Summer's always been my favorite time of year._

 _It's all sunny and warm, and there's ice cream and no school..._

 _You can do whatever you want during summer._

 _Even... um... get attacked by a big scary monster?_

The golf cart carrying the two twins in it crashed through a billboard, sending shards of wood and paint everywhere. Mabel held on tightly to her seat while her brother steered the cart. Behind them loomed a big shadowy creature, chasing them relentlessly.

 _Why was I so dumb?_ Mabel thought to herself.

I'm Mabel, and the person next to me is my twin brother Dipper. We're kinda in trouble right now. You might be wondering why...

Well, then be prepared for the crazy train.

* * *

We were both just kids in California doing normal kid stuff when mom and dad said we had to take a break from all the indoors stuff and get some fresh air, so they decided to send us to this little town in Oregon called Gravity Falls.

This town is totally fun! There are so many animals in the woods, and it's sunny, and the stars out here look much brighter than they do back home. I was really excited for this summer, but Dipper was being a sock about the whole thing.

We had to stay with our Great Uncle Stanford, but he insists we call him Ford. He's an inventor and a scientist, and he has six fingers on each hand! He makes all these cool gadgets and things, and his house is all spooky. It's a shack built in the middle of the woods. Some people say it's haunted for some reason. As for our Great Uncle Ford, he's awesome! He likes sweaters like me and sciency stuff like Dipper. He's like the perfect combination of both of us, but he's not very social. He's always busy working and rarely has time to spend with us. That's probably why he got us a babysitter. Her name is Wendy. He also has a handyman named Soos, who speaks like the eighties.

But I'm forgetting the big picture. This town may seem a little boring sometimes, but this one day changed all of that...

* * *

We got our own attic bedroom. I was so excited! It's pretty warm and cozy, and it has all these moldy spots on the ceiling. Today I named one Daryl. He's my favorite. Oh, maybe I should stop narrating now. This is kinda where the action starts.

Mabel finished taping up her final poster and turned around to look at Dipper. "This attic is amazing!" She exclaimed. "Look at all the splinters I got!"

Dipper, who was currently tugging his bag away from the goat, walked over to inspect Mabel's fingers. "Those look like they hurt."

Mabel laughed. "Only a little... ow."

Dipper sighed and spent the rest of the morning pulling the splinters from her fingers before even unloading all his own stuff. Mabel's stomach growled, and not even a second later, so did Dipper's. The twins exchanged a look and nodded. Time for _Overly Sensitive Owls_.

* * *

Dipper and Mabel had accepted the fact that Great Uncle Ford would not be around often. Being a scientist and all, but more than that... Mabel noticed he didn't really understand the concept of family too much. Mabel, despite her persistent optimism, didn't expect him to be too social. So she was surprised to see him downstairs at the dining room table.

"Good morning, children." He greeted them, looking up from a novel entitled _The Very Angry Grapes_.

Mabel skipped over to the table. "G'morning, Great Uncle Ford!" She smiled, sitting down as Dipper pulled out a big box of _Overly Sensitive Owls_. "I made you more finger puppets!" She opened her hands, releasing two handfuls of finger puppets, beaming as Ford looked them over.

"Oh, Mabel..." He chuckled nervously, picking up a couple puppets. "You shouldn't have." _Seriously_.

Mabel grinned wide, showing off the metal in her mouth. "I have more if you want!"

"No, really you don't-" But Mabel was already up and out of the room. Ford sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as Dipper sat down with the owls. "Is she always like this?"

Dipper shrugged, pouring himself a bowl. "Sometimes."

Ford chuckled, looking back down at his book, only for, a second later, handfuls of finger puppets to rain down over him, followed by a sprinkling of glitter that made him cough.

"Mabel's back!" His niece announced cheerfully as the puppets settled over Ford's shoulders and in his book.

Ford sighed. This was gonna be a long day.

* * *

After a few days, the twins were settled in. All of their stuff had been fully unpacked, and they'd familiarized themselves with the house. It was spooky silent sometimes. For some reason, Ford would just disappear for a couple hours or so and they wouldn't see him until later. Luckily, Great Uncle Ford had also hired some extra help.

Wendy was the daughter of a local lumberjack, and Ford had hired her to be their babysitter. Mabel knew from the start that she was gonna like Wendy. She was all relaxed and laid-back, like nothing in the world could scare her or make her doubt herself.

And she loved the twins, which was good since she was around all the time. Mabel found herself disappointed that Great Uncle Ford didn't spend more time with them. He was always hidden away somewhere out of sight, unable to be bothered or found until he wanted to be. At one point, Mabel was so bored she considered reading one of the old books from the bookcase in the parlor, but she knew how protective Great Uncle Ford was about his books, and how mad he'd be if she touched one or put it back in a place it didn't belong.

Great Uncle Ford was an organization freak in the strangest way. While he was completely satisfied leaving a table scattered with blueprints, pens, and dice, he had to have his books and papers organized. He had to have his bed made in the morning. He had to alphabetize his spices and herbs in the cupboard, and if anyone disturbed these things, they would be shoved out of the room for the rest of the day and scolded later. Mabel didn't like being scolded, so she left everything as it was.

To be honest, Mabel was a little scared of Great Uncle Ford. He gave her a bad feeling every time he was near. He was weird, anti-social, he always wore a ripped, tan coat and the same red sweater every day. Dipper was near the opposite. He wanted to know everything about Great Uncle Ford's work. He wanted to help fix stuff and build things, to come with him on outings for parts, but Ford, as always, would deny him, saying he was too busy to have a child hanging around his serious work. So Mabel and Dipper ended up spending a lot of time together.

But today, finally, _finally_ , Great Uncle Ford was downstairs, tightening a few screws on what looked suspiciously like a walkie-talkie. His crossbow teetered on the edge of the table. Mabel frowned. He was busy. She couldn't interrupt.

Mabel was bored out of her mind, but she'd seen a spooky woods near their house, or rather, all around their house. It made her curious. Mabel's curiousness could never be denied. She smiled at the crossbow. Dipper, who was reading a few feet away, eyed her suspiciously.

Mabel skipped up to the table. "Hey, Great Uncle Ford, can I go play with your crossbow?" She asked.

Ford didn't even look up, he just waved a hand. "Yes, yes, sure. Have fun." He said, completely ignoring her.

Mabel grinned, grabbing the crossbow and the arrows before running off. "Thanks, Great Uncle Ford!"

Dipper raised an eyebrow, closing his summer reading. "I think I'm gonna go make sure she doesn't hurt herself." He said before following quietly.

* * *

Mabel grinned, shooting the crossbow into the trees, and pulling the arrows back out as she passed. The woodland creatures scattered as she did so, thankfully. She couldn't bare the thought of shooting some cute little squirrel or bunny by accident. The farther she went into the woods, the darker it got. The sun leaked through the leafy branches in cracks, leaving ominous shadows stretching across the ground.

Mabel simply skipped along, jumping right over creepers and tree roots, smiling all the while. Up ahead she spotted a bush of thick branches blocking her path. Holding the crossbow closer she pushed the branches apart, making her way through the bush. Then she stopped, something pulling at her from behind. She looked to see a branch had snagged on her skirt. She scowled, pulling at her skirt, but the branch was stuck.

With a loud rip, Mabel fell flat on her face, the crossbow by her side. She pulled herself to her knees, frowning at the sizable tear in her skirt. Nevertheless, she continued forth, but she paused again, hearing a bleat from behind her.

Looking back, she saw the goat from back at the shack, the one that annoyed Great Uncle Ford to no end. It looked like it had gotten a little scratched up in the bush. She frowned, kneeling down before it. "Oh, hey Gompers." She said. That was the name Soos had given it. No one knew where it came from, just that Ford wanted it _gone_ and it refused to go.

She smiled, scratching it behind the horns, it's horizontally-pupiled eyes blinked at her as it bleated. Gompers suddenly turned his head and took her sleeve in its teeth, beginning to chew the fabric.

Mabel giggled at his enthusiasm. "Oh! Yes, you can keep chewing on my sweater." She said, standing up and taking the goat with her. "Do you wanna be my friend?" She asked. The goat bleated. She squealed. "Of course you do!" She said, skipping off with new enthusiasm, the goat still chewing on the cuff of her sweater.

Five minutes of walking later, Gompers had lost interest in her sweater. The wrist was a little frayed, but it was a quick fix. Worth it for her favorite pink shooting star sweater. This paired with her torn skirt and the twigs in her hair, Mabel looked very odd indeed. And it was only going to get worse.

She was at the top of a hill when something tripped her foot. Mabel tumbled down the hill, dizzyingly fast, until she finally stopped at the base. The crossbow slid down next to her, and Gompers trotted down unharmed as well.

Mabel picked up the crossbow once more but paused. Something was rustling in the trees. Mabel suddenly felt uneasy, which was odd for her. She was normally optimistic in every situation, but this far into the forest, she felt a little spooked. The wind whooshed up above, and the pines swayed in the breeze. Fog had begun settling over the area. Mabel felt suddenly unsafe. Slowly, she raised the crossbow.

She was about to tell Gompers to go back when a sudden snap of a twig triggered a reflex. Mabel pulled the trigger. The arrow flew forth and shot into a tree with a clang before falling to the ground. Wait a minute... clang? Trees don't make clangs. And usually, the arrows stick in the tree when she shoots them. Mabel approached the tree carefully.

From behind the tree, Gompers walked out. Mabel raised an eyebrow. "Was that you making all those creepy noises?" She asked. Gompers bleated, walking past her. Mabel rolled her eyes playfully, looking back to the strange clanging tree.

She reached out, touching it. The bark wasn't soft like she'd expected. It was actually a metal blended into the trunk. The area was outlined by a faint square. Her interest piqued, Mabel carefully worked her fingers into the crack and pulled it open.

A cobweb on the inside stretched and snapped before her eyes. Mabel gasped. Inside the hollow sat a weird old radio with switches and dials and weird markings. It was like those weird old shows Dipper watched all the time!

Mabel, curious, took one of the switches and wiggled it. From behind, she heard a metallic whir and a shocked bleat. She turned in time to see Gompers run behind her, hiding. In front of her, a patch of earth had been moved away to reveal a secret compartment in the ground. This was _absolutely_ like one of Dipper's weirdo nerd shows.

She approached the compartment, Gompers still cowering behind her. Inside laid an old leather book bound in gold bindings. She picked up the book, the cover was dusty and unreadable. She was about to blow it off when suddenly, Gompers snatched the book from her hand and began chewing on the cover.

"No, Gompers, bad goat!" She shouted, grabbing the book, trying to get it away from the goat. Suddenly, with a loud rip, the cover tore, throwing her off her feet. Mabel stared at the book. Gompers had torn off a good two inches of the cover, but it wasn't that big a deal. Wiping away the dust, she could see a hand with four fingers on the cover. The part Gompers ripped off must have had the thumb. There was a big black number three written on the hand.

"Hm," Mabel muttered, placing the book on the ground in front of her. Maybe she shouldn't...

"Mabel?"

Mabel whirled around to see Dipper standing behind her. He approached, looking concerned.

"Dipper!" She shouted, motioning him to come forth. "Come look at this."

Dipper knelt down next to her, looking over the Journal cover. "Whoa... what is this?"

Mabel shrugged. "I don't know. Some weird book I found in a secret ground hole thing." She opened the cover, lifting out the monocle attached on the inside. There was a note taped to the back of the cover, but the bottom was torn off. It read, in big loopy letters: "Property of-" and the rest of the note was missing.

"The author's name is ripped out," Dipper muttered as Mabel turned the pages. The very first page read "June 18" at the top. The rest of the page was written in loopy hand like the torn note. Mabel was never much good at reading handwriting, so Dipper read it for her.

"'It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon.'" He read, and Mabel began flipping more pages, revealing images of floating eyeballs, huge bats, weird codes and more. "What is all this?"

Finally, Mabel landed on one of the last pages, one that stood out for the large scribbling on the bottom. "Trust no one" it read, underlined several times. Furrowing her eyebrows, Mabel gestured to the rest of the text and Dipper began to read.

"'Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I'm being watched.'" Dipper read. "'I must hide this book before He finds it. Remember: in Gravity Falls there is no one you can trust.'"

Mabel began flipping through the rest of the pages. They were completely blank. "Anyone else get the feeling this thing is cursed?" She then gasped, grabbing hold of Dipper's arm. "Like something from ' _Ghost Harassers_ '!"

Dipper scrutinized the book. "It's definitely strange, alright." He picked it up, standing. "I should keep it somewhere safe."

"What?!" Mabel stood up, scowling. "No way! I found it, so it's mine." She said, grabbing the book from her brother.

"Mabel, you don't know the first thing about the paranormal!" Dipper exclaimed. "Why would you want that?"

Mabel hugged the book close. "I found it, so I'm keeping it, and that's that."

Dipper scowled. "No one ever listens to anything I say." He muttered.

Mabel frowned down at the book. "Hm... maybe we should show it to Great Uncle Ford. He may know something about it."

"No way!" Dipper shouted before looking over his shoulder and lowering his voice. "If Great Uncle Ford finds out about this, he'll take it away." He said. Great Uncle Ford was a strong believer that there was nothing paranormal in Gravity Falls, and he wanted the kids to stay away from anyone who believed otherwise.

Mabel nodded. "You're probably right." She said. "But I'm still keeping it."

Dipper sighed. "Fine."

Mabel smiled, looking around. Her smile suddenly melted away. "Um, Dipper. Do you know the way out?"

 **This is how Mabel finds the Journal. I thought it's way unrealistic to say they just trust Ford blindly. I saw in a fanfic, Gompers tore off half the cover, but I didn't wanna do that. If I did, they'd never know it was a hand, or that it was Journal 3, so Gompers just tears off two fingers.**  
 **I wanted to add the Mabel-Gompers bonding just because.**  
 **And I know how, when Mabel raises the crossbow, that's a little OOC, but I don't care.**  
 **Also, I have managed to make Ford sound like a jerk in one chapter! Yay me!**  
 **I thought it would be better if Dipper and Mabel read it together.**


	2. Chapter 2

Once they finally found their way out of the twisting labyrinth of trees, Dipper and Mabel finally saw the old shack they could now call "home". Mabel desperately hoped Ford had returned to whatever hidden lair he hid in to do his sciency stuff. Of course, the mention of this sparked an argument from Dipper that, "Ford doesn't have a lair. That's dumb."

Mabel rolled her eyes. For extra safety, Dipper hid the Journal inside his vest. Good thing too, because once they left the treeline, Mabel spotted Ford waiting for them at the door.

"Where were you two?" He demanded as the twins approached nervously.

Dipper opened his mouth to lie, but Mabel beat him to the punch. "We were in the spooky part of the woods!" That earned her a sharp elbow to the ribs.

Ford's eyes all but popped out of his head. "What?!" He shouted, making the two flinch back. "Haven't I told you two not to go into those woods?" He asked, pushing them through the door into Ford's "thinking parlor".

Mabel grinned. "We know, that's why we did it."

"Mabel, shut up!" Dipper hissed.

The twins felt Ford's heavy, six-fingered hands take a hold of their shoulders. His face was serious. "Do not go into those woods again." He said in a firm tone. "There are dangerous things out there! There are coyotes... and... and tigers!"

Dipper tilted his head. "Tigers don't live in Oregon."

Ford blinked, then shook his head. "It... it doesn't matter. Just... go upstairs." He said, walking off towards the sitting room.

Once the two were in their room and the door had been closed, Dipper took out the Journal and handed it to Mabel. "You might wanna take a look through that thing a little carefully," Dipper said. "For all you know, the guy who wrote it could've been crazy."

Mabel shook her head. "No way," She said, opening the book to the "trust no one" page. "I'm sure all this stuff was just a misunderstanding. He was probably just eating too much candy!"

Dipper shook his head at her, muttering under his breath. "Mabel, half the pages are blank." He said. "Like the guy writing it mysteriously disappeared." His face took on a sad expression. "You don't think he's dead, do you?"

Mabel shoved Dipper lightly, smiling. "Shut up. I'm sure he's fine."

Dipper sighed, heading over to his bed. "I just can't believe all this. It's amazing!" He exclaimed, flopping down on the mattress. "Great Uncle Ford said I was being paranoid, but according to this book, Gravity Falls has this secret dark side."

"Ooh!" Mabel squealed, clutching the Journal tighter with an excited smile. "What if it has a rainbow side, too?"

"Mabel, that is literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"You just don't have the imagination for it," Mabel said, cheerfully sitting down on her bed and grabbing her color pens and stickers. "I'm gonna write my own entry in here!"

Dipper looked over at her skeptically. "Mabel, you're doing it wrong. That's a serious book. You can't just scribble in it with pink pen and stickers."

Mabel shrugged. "Why not?"

Dipper sighed, leaning back with a book. "I'm not even gonna try to stop you."

Mabel grinned, beginning to write her first page...

* * *

After reading a few pages, Mabel became intrigued, almost hypnotized by the book. It's writing was all proper-sounding, and the creatures in it sounded like something she might make up. Reading in a little further, she found some traits of the Author that she shared, some silly jokes, and even some cute sentimental things. It was around midnight that Mabel realized she should be asleep. Looking over at Dipper's bed, she giggled, seeing him drooling onto his pillow.

With that cute little image, she tucked the book under her pillow and laid down, pulling the blankets up over her daytime clothes, allowing herself to be swept away by sleep.

The next morning, Mabel woke up with some of Dipper's "Stay Awake Tea", a drink Dipper invented. It consisted of some tea their mom made when they were kids to mask the taste of coffee drowned in sugar and milk. Ford tried to warn her it wasn't healthy, but she was close to collapsing.

At the table, Ford asked Dipper if he wanted to come with him on a supply run. Dipper almost swallowed his tongue with excitement before saying yes. This left Mabel alone.

Alone was not something Mabel was good at being. Alone was sad and empty. She tried finding something to do. She tried hanging out with Soos, the handyman, and Wendy, but Soos was busy, and Wendy... was lazy. Mabel couldn't play with either of them. And after fixing up her sweater sleeve, she was out of things to do.

Looking out the attic's triangular window, she saw the trees, and just over the top of the pines, she could make out the small town on the other side of the forest. Gravity Falls. Huh, maybe it was time she explored the place a little bit, in case this scenario happened again. Who knows, there may be some fun things or people to meet.

She put on her pink sweater once again and grabbed the Journal from under her pillow. She couldn't leave this behind. She stuffed it into the secret pocket she'd added to the inside of her sweater, one she decided to add to all of her sweaters. Then she skipped down the stairs and out of the shack. Time to make some new friends!

* * *

Mabel's first impression of the town? Sleepy. People walked around at a slow pace, talking without animation. There were hardly any cars or electronic things around. Maybe a street phone here and there, but not much else. The town was, in a word, boring. The people... weren't.

Almost everyone in Gravity Falls was weird or crazy or - and Mabel hated labeling people like this - stupid.

Evidently, there was nothing to do in this town. She looked everywhere. The library, the diner, the cemetery. Finally, she gave up, slumping down next to a tombstone. Maybe she should just go back to the shack. There was nothing to do here.

That was when she felt a shadow cast over her.

Mabel opened her eyes, blinking slightly. She peered up to see a face staring down at her, half hidden by hair, pale skin and a hoodie drawn tight around their face.

The boy smiled. "Sup?"

He held out a white-gloved hand to her. Mabel, blushing, took his hand. It was a little bit foamy. He helped her to her feet. "Th-thanks. I'm... I'm Mabel." She said, looking at the ground. "What's your name?"

The boy's eyes shifted nervously. "Uh..." He muttered, his voice was very gruff. "N-normal... Norman..." He forced the words out as if speaking took some sort of effort.

For some reason, Mabel thought he was cute in a dark and brooding sort of way. He was about a foot taller than her, and probably a few years older, but these small little details slipped her mind completely.

"Nice to meet you, Norman!" She said, trying to keep her blush down. "Are you new to Gravity Falls?"

"No." He said, scratching the back of his neck. "I've... lived here my whole life." He said, hesitating every few words, which made his speech pattern hard to follow. But it wasn't like Mabel was listening to what he was saying anyway.

He smiled nervously. "You're really pretty."

Mabel giggled, putting a hand to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, you're so forward." She said.

Norman chuckled with unease. "Can I... uh... show you around town... or... whatever?"

Mabel's face lit up with a huge grin. "Sure!" She said, taking Norman's hand and running off towards the town.

It seemed maybe this summer wouldn't be so boring.


	3. Chapter 3

**Review response**

 **Askaroth: At first i though that it was going to be like gravity raising au. Its good to see i was wrong. Keep going. I like it**

 **Me: Yes, that is a good au, but I just don't get why they do what they do with the characters. I've seen so many AUs out there where people take the characters and swap their places, but the dumb thing is, they swap their personalities too. If you swap their personalities, what's the point of switching the characters to begin with? So I made this AU special in my own way. Mabel is mostly driven to explore the mysteries of Gravity Falls because she feels excluded when Dipper and Ford hang out. I figured, if it was Ford taking care of them instead of Stan, Mabel would be spending a whole lot more time alone, which is sad, but great for plot development.**

 **Musicalocelot: Wow, I've never actually seen someone write about how Mabel met Norman. That sounds pretty right. Oh and no Mabel, this summer will NOT be boring XD.**

 **Me: Ha ha! Yeah, I liked writing that. I thought to myself, "what would be the first thing Norman says to Mabel?" and then it hit me: "Sup". Lol**

* * *

The rest of the day was spent touring the town, eating ice cream, and watching the sky, like a romantic couple who had known each other for years, not hours. Norman was so poetic!

Mabel hadn't even noticed the sun had begun to dip down until the shadows were already falling across the grass. She and Norman said their goodbyes in the woods, and Mabel made her way back to the shack, preparing herself for the scolding she'd receive upon arrival.

She wasn't disappointed. Ford gave her a stern talk after making sure she was okay and that she'd eaten somewhat of a dinner.

Upstairs, Mabel found Dipper in his night clothes, reading, like usual. He looked up upon her entrance. "Oh, hey." He said. "Where were you?"

Mabel, with a big dopey grin, skipped over to her bed. "I was on a date!" She said, sitting down and swinging her feet.

Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me get this straight: in the time I was gone, you already found a boyfriend?"

Mabel shrugged innocently, barely containing her enthusiasm. "What can I say? I guess I'm just _irresistiblllle_!" She exclaimed, pulling her hands into the sleeves and waving her arms.

Dipper sighed, leaning back against his pillow. "So, what's the guy like?"

"Oh, you'll see," Mabel replied with a sly smile. "He's picking me up tomorrow for another date. You'll both get to meet each other!"

"Oh, yay," Dipper said, without enthusiasm.

Mabel giggled, changing into her pajamas in the closet. "Mock all you want, brother," she said, coming out in her floppy disk nightie, "but I've got a good feeling about this summer."

"Yeah, sure," Dipper said, but couldn't help a smile. He looked over at her, turning off the lantern. "Goodnight Mabel."

Mabel smiled, tucking herself into bed. "Goodnight Dipper."

* * *

Mabel waited in the living room, barely able to sit still. Great Uncle Ford was reading, taking concerned glances at Mabel every second.

"Mabel, is there something wrong?" He asked, closing his book. "Have you been drinking Dipper's Stay Awake Tea again?"

Mabel's grin widened. "Nope!" She said, looking back at the hallway door.

Dipper entered the living room, looking bored. He wandered past the two to a tank on the other side of the living room with a T-Rex skull inside. "Great Uncle Ford, I've been meaning to ask: how did you get this skull without paying millions of dollars?"

Ford smiled. "Well, that's actually a very interesting story. You see-"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Mabel jumped up from the couch's armrest. "He's here! He's here!" She shouted, running into the hallway.

Ford looked to Dipper. "Who's here?"

Before he got the chance to answer, Mabel was in the doorway with a boy in a black hoodie.

"Hey, family! Say hello to my new boyfriend!"

The boy looked up at the two with a relaxed expression. "'Sup?"

"Hey..." Dipper said.

Ford raised a hand. "Greetings."

Mabel held onto Norman's arm with a lovestruck expression. "We met at the cemetery. He's really deep." She explained, squeezing his arm slightly. "Oh. Little muscle there." She said, laughing nervously. "That's...what a surprise...

"So," Dipper began skeptically, "what's your name?"

The boy's eyes shifted anxiously. "Uh. Normal... MAN!" He blurted out.

"He means Norman." Mabel corrected.

Dipper tilted his head, pointing to a dripping spot of red on Norman's face. "Are you bleeding, Norman?"

Norman's eyes briefly went down to the dripping substance. "It's jam." He grunted.

Mabel gasped and shoved him lightly. "I _love_ jam!" She gestured from herself to Norman. "Look. At. This!"

Norman looked down. "So, you wanna go hold hands or... whatever?"

"Oh, oh, my goodness." Mabel giggled, running towards the front door. "Don't wait up!" She shouted.

Norman pointed a finger gun at Ford and Dipper, then accidentally slammed his head into the door frame before stumbling after Mabel. Dipper flinched at the sound of smashing glass.

"Great Uncle Ford, don't you think there's something... odd about Mabel's boyfriend?" Dipper asked, still staring after the couple.

Ford shook his head. "The teenagers in this town are all the same, Dipper. Pale, apathetic, antisocial..." He said. "He's likely just another normal boy. Don't get too curious. Only bad things come from that."

Dipper scowled to himself. That answer didn't satisfy him. He needed to know more. There was something off about Norman, and he was going to find out what.

* * *

It was a long day before Mabel returned, giddy and cheerful. Dipper tried to talk to her, but she collapsed onto her bed in a fit of giggles before he could get anything out of his mouth.

"Um, Mabel?" he poked her lightly.

Mabel grinned up at him. "Norman's great," she said. "He took me to this quiet clearing in the forest, and it was perfect," she said with a sigh.

Dipper pursed his lips. "Mabel..." he began. "Don't you think there's something... _off_ about Norman?"

Mabel frowned, sitting up. "What do you mean?"

Dipper shook his head. "I-I mean, it's nothing really important..." he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Can I just... can I borrow the Journal?"

Mabel tilted her head. "Borrow the Journal... why...?" But Dipper saw the flicker of realization on Mabel's face. "Wait a minute... are you...?"

Dipper shook his head. "N-no, I'm just saying-"

"I can't believe you!" She shouted with a glare. "You're calling my boyfriend a freak!"

"No, I'm not!" Dipper feebly tried to defend himself. "I'm just... worried about you."

Mabel's glare softened. "Dipper, Norman's not bad." She said, calmer now. "I think you need to give him a chance."

Dipper nodded. "I know. I'm sorry..." he muttered.

Mabel smiled. "It's okay, brobro," she said, giving him a brief hug. "I forgive you. But I'm still seeing him again."

Dipper nodded. "Alright. Just be careful."

Mabel rolled her eyes. "I'm always careful."

"Sure," Dipper said, heading towards the staircase, but over his shoulder, he stole a quick glance at the Journal on Mabel's bed.

He had his new goal.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't quite as simple as that. Mabel seemed to hold onto the Journal like a lifeline. She rarely left it. But, luckily, today it seemed Mabel's mind was elsewhere. She left the Journal on her bedside table. Dipper saw his golden opportunity.

He grabbed up the Journal, then looked around. He needed to go somewhere else. Somewhere a little more secret. He chose the room above their bedroom, in the very attic of the shack. The ceiling was steeply slanted, and the window at the far end was triangular and tinted red, with a small little ledge below the window edge that worked as a pretty good seat.

Dipper sat down on the ledge, pulling out the Journal. He glanced out the window for a moment to see Mabel and Norman below having a date. They sat on the table, with Norman's arm around Mabel. Dipper felt like throwing up.

He looked back to the Journal. He ran his hand over the cover, feeling the torn edge. The metal was cold, and the leather was still a little moist. Mabel really should've taken the time to blow dry this thing. He stared for a moment at the four-fingered hand. Its gold metal reflected his own face. He frowned. Maybe this was a bad idea. He shouldn't assume things about people. But looking over at his sister through the window, seeing how close Norman was, how easy it would be for him to hurt her... he had to look.

He began flipping through the book, scanning over the creatures, hoping something would just pop out at him to help him solve this mystery.  
He was scanning over a few pages about some rich family in town when be turned a page that almost made him drop the book.

The main image was a humanoid with the skin seeming to drip from his skull. They were wearing a hoodie with a branch sticking out of the hood, just like... oh no. Dipper found the passage next to the picture and immediately began reading, but each word only made the truth that much more apparent.

"'Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes these creatures are often mistaken for... teenagers?!'" Dipper gasped, looking back and forth from the picture to the passage. The resemblance between the illustration and the accused was becoming even more evident. "'Beware Gravity Falls's nefarious...'" His eyes widened at the last word. "'Zombies!'"

Oh man, oh man, this was bad, very bad. He looked out the window again, then pressed himself against it. Outside, Mabel sat on the table, but Norman was standing, limping towards her with an _undead_ slowness.

"No, no, no Mabel!" Dipper shouted, pounding on the red glass.

Norman suddenly grabbed Mabel by the shoulders, a little roughly. Dipper pressed himself harder against the window. But then Norman leaned back, and Dipper could clearly see the daisy chain necklace he'd just affixed around Mabel's neck.

Dipper frowned, slouching down once again. Did that really just happen? This was all so confusing. "Is my sister really dating a zombie," he muttered, "or am I just going nuts?"

"Probably both."

Dipper jumped, losing his balance, he suddenly fell off of the ledge and landed on the floor. Above stood Wendy, the babysitter Ford hired for them. She was laughing. Dipper blushed.

"Oh, sorry, man," she said, holding out a hand, which he hesitantly took. She pulled him to his feet with a quick jerk. "You know, you really shouldn't talk to yourself." She said brushing the red hair out of her face before adjusting her lumberjack hat.

This only made Dipper blush more. Even if she was their babysitter, Dipper still found Wendy mildly attractive. Okay, that was an understatement.

Dipper scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I know..." he muttered. "Wendy, you've seen Mabel's boyfriend. He's gotta be a zombie, right?"

Wendy's expression went serious. "Totally!" She said, leaning in conspiratorially. "I, like, just saw him eat some brains the other day!"

Dipper's eyes widened. "R-really?"

Wendy suddenly shoved him playfully. "Nope." She laughed.

Dipper stumbled and scowled. "Wendy, I'm serious! Mabel could be in trouble."

Wendy tilted her head, taking a seat on the ledge. "Dipper, if you're really so worried that he'll hurt her, why don't you just spy on them or something?" she suggested.

Dipper pursed his lips, taking a seat next to her. "I don't know. Isn't that kinda creepy?"

"Nah," she said dismissively. "That's how I discovered two of my boyfriends were cheating."

Dipper nodded. "Alright, I'll do some recon, but _please_ don't tell Ford about this. Or the Journal."

Wendy smiled, pinching her thumb and forefinger together and dragging it from one corner of her mouth to the other before flicking them into the empty air. The universal 'sealed lips' gesture.

Dipper smiled, mirroring the gesture. Wendy was truly awesome. Now he'd figured out the next phase of his plan.

* * *

Dipper grabbed the old camcorder he'd brought with him from home. It was old and pretty worn, but it worked.

The next couple days, Dipper followed Mabel and Norman everywhere. To the park, the diner, the graveyard. Norman would always do strange things, like smashing his fist through a door window to turn the knob from the inside, or the time he fell into and open grave and clawed himself out before laughing it off with Mabel. Dipper had seen enough.

It was time to confront Mabel. He found her in their room, brushing her long brown hair in front of a mirror.

"Mabel, we've gotta talk about Norman."

Mabel turned around and smiled at the subject. "Isn't he the greatest?" she asked, then pointed to her face. "Check out this giant smooch mark he gave me!"

Mabel turned her head to the side to reveal a big red mark on her cheek. Dipper screamed, stepping back. Oh man, he'd bitten her! He was too late!

But Mabel was laughing. "Gullible. It was just an accident with the leaf blower!" she then sighed as if remembering something pleasant. "That was fun."

Dipper shook his head. "No, Mabel, listen! I'm trying to tell you that Norman is not what he seems!" He reached into his jacket and pulled out the Journal.

Mabel's expression visibly darkened. "You stole my Journal!" She shouted, accusingly.

"Mabel, I was just worried about you."

"Dipper, you worry _too much_." She said. "It's not like Norman's a _vampire_ ," she said. "Although that would be cool."

Dipper held up the book. "Guess again, sister." He opened the book and showed it to her. "Sha-bam!"

Mabel jumped back with a cry of disgust. Confused, Dipper checked the page. He'd accidentally shown her the page on gnomes.

"Oh, wait. I'm-I'm sorry..." He said, flipping to the right page before uttering a less enthusiastic "Sha-bam!"

Mabel tilted her head at the page. "A zombie?" She scowled, planting her fists on her hips. "That is not funny, Dipper."

"I'm not joking!" He exclaimed, beginning to pace back and forth. "It all adds up: the bleeding, the limp. He never blinks! Have you noticed that?"

"Maybe he's blinking when you're blinking."

"Mabel, you're not listening to me!" He said desperately. "Norman's always acting strange! He grunts all the time, he never takes off his jacket! He's got a _branch_ sticking out of his hood!"

Mabel frowned skeptically. "How do you know so much about Norman, anyway?"

Dipper blinked. Oh man, this was gonna be hard to say. "I... I kinda followed you two around for three days..."

"Three days?!" Mabel shouted, making Dipper flinch. "You were spying on us! You don't trust me!"

"Mabel, remember what the book said about Gravity Falls?" He asked, looking over his shoulders nervously. "Trust no one!"

Mabel glared daggers, snatching the Journal away from him. "No, no, you aren't allowed use this book against my boyfriend! You are being _such_ a jerk!" She shook her head.

Dipper suddenly grabbed her around the shoulders. "Mabel," he shook her, "he's gonna eat your brain!"

Mabel shoved him away. "Dipper, listen to me. Norman and I are going on a date at five o'clock," she said, backing him up towards the open doorway, "and I am gonna be _adorable_ ," she roughly poked a finger into his chest, "and he's gonna be _dreamy_ ," she harshly shoved him out the door, despite his protests, "and I am not gonna let you ruin it with one of your crazy _conspiracies_!" she slammed the door in his face.

Dipper sighed, letting himself slide down the door. "What am I gonna do?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Reviews!**

 **Musicalocelot: Oh my gosh this story makes me happy! I am quickly falling in love with this AU! I just love everything about it! Failing. Words! XD. Mabel has the journal but is still being her peppy crazy self. Dipper doesn't have the journal but is still be his curious,** sceptical **self. And Ford. It seems he's doing his very best to discourage the twins from exploring the oddities of Gravity Falls to keep them safe. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to realize that the more you tell a person not to do something, the more they want to do it. I wonder how long he'll keep up his charade of ignorance? StayAwesome~**

 **Wow, I love how you made that argument scene a bit deeper. And Wendy finding him in the attic instead of Soos! Brilliant. She so would spy on her boyfriends wouldn't she XD. StayAwesome~**

 **Me: You caught my flow perfectly! That's exactly what I was doing with Dipper, Mabel, and Ford! I wasn't expecting people to be so smart. My full au description is on my DeviantArt, hannahthepadawan, so look at that. And totally, Wendy would SO spy on her boyfriends! it made sense to put her in, since I tried to reverse their roles, and also since Wendy is their babysitter, and she's been doing a bad job of knowing where they are so far.**

* * *

The doorbell rang at five o'clock on the dot. Mabel raced down the stairs, pulling on a purple sweater and tucking the Journal into the inside pouch. She wouldn't let Dipper get his hands on it again. The sweater was one she was quite proud of. It had a cat face on it and, in sparkly letters, said "meow wow". One of her personal bests, if she did say so herself.

The doorbell rang again. "Coming!" she shouted, dashing to the front door. Norman stood on the other side, looking dapper as always. "Hey, Norman," she said, showing off her sweater. "How do I look?"

Norman stared, mesmerized by the sparkly letters. "Shiny..." he grunted.

Mabel rolled her eyes playfully. "You always know what to say!"

Dipper watched them leave from a seat in the living room. He sighed, watching his video on the camcorder. "Wendy was right. I don't have any _real_ evidence." He muttered, watching Mabel teach Norman to play hopscotch, only for him to collapse head first onto the ground. He fast forwarded to Mabel and Norman watching the sky. He had his arm around her.

"I guess I can be kind of paranoid sometimes and—" Suddenly, on the tape, Norman's hand fell off. He reached around Mabel and reattached it, glancing around warily. "Wait, _what?!_ " Dipper rewound the tape and watched it again. "I was right!" He gasped, his panicked movements suddenly tipping the armchair backwards.

Dipper emerged from behind the chair in a panic, dropping the camera as he dashed off, shouting for Great Uncle Ford. Where was he?! This was the worst time for him to disappear. He ran outside; he had to find a fast way to follow Mabel! They were probably in the middle of the forest by now!

Then he spotted Soos, and more importantly, the golf cart he'd reassembled from parts and modified. He'd always talked about adding nitrogen boosters, even though those were illegal.

"Soos!" He gasped, dashing towards the chubby man. "Soos, I need to borrow the golf cart to save my sister from a zombie!" He shouted, waving his arms wildly.

For a couple seconds, Soos only stared at him, and Dipper was worried for a moment that he'd be called crazy. But Soos laughed. "Sure, dude. I've been wanting someone to test this out for a while." He said, dropping the keys into Dipper's hand. The key chain had a UFO charm on it. The same one he saw in Great Uncle Ford's pocket.

Dipper inserted the keys into the ignition and heard the engine rev with a satisfying growl. He put his foot lightly on the pedal and began to back up when he passed Wendy and stopped.

"Hey," she said casually, then leaned in, her hands were behind her back for some reason. "So, I know I'm probably supposed to, like, stop you or something," she said, "but if you're going off to fight Zombies, you should probably take this."

Suddenly, Dipper found Wendy's ax in his hands. It was pretty heavy, but he could lift it. "Goodluck," she said with a wink.

Dipper smiled and began to drive off, hearing Wendy shout in the distance, "I want that back, by the way!"

Time to rescue Mabel.

* * *

Norman had his back to Mabel, playing with his zipper tab nervously. "Uh, Mabel, now that we've gotten to know each other, there's..." he took a shaky breath. "...there's something I should tell you."

Mabel took a step forward, the wind tousled the weird floppy bits of hair at the back of Mabel's head. "Oh, Norman," she said with dramatic passion, "you can tell me anything!" But in the back of her mind, she kept repeating the same thoughts over and over: _Please be a vampire, please be a vampire!_

Norman turned around, nodding his head anxiously. "All right, just... just don't freak out, okay?" he said raising a hand in a calming gesture. "Just... just keep an open mind, be cool!"

Mabel's eyes widened as Norman slowly began to unzip his hoodie. Was he taking off his shirt? That was what guys did in movies. But what Mabel saw when he cast off the hoodie was nothing she had expected.

Standing before her were five tiny men, two at the bottom for feet, two on top of them holding fake foam hands on sticks, and one on top of them all as the head. They all had beards and red pointy hats.

Norman had revealed himself... as a bunch of gnomes.

The top gnome brushed his hair out of his face. "Is this weird?" he asked, his voice much different than Norman's. "Is this too weird? Do you need to sit down?"

Mabel could only stare.

He nodded. "R-r-right, I'll explain. So!" he snapped his fingers. "We're gnomes. First off. Get that one outta the way."

"Uh..." Mabel's eye twitched.

The gnome continued. "I'm Jeff," he said, then began pointing to each gnome in turn, "and here we have Carson, Steve, Jason and... I'm sorry, I always forget your name," he said to the bottom-right one, one with a wild beard and crossing eyes.

"Schmebulock," it grunted, revealing its crooked teeth.

Jeff snapped his fingers again. "Schmebulock! Yes!" he said.

Mabel sat down on a log, smacking her forehead. She felt dumb. She felt gullible.

"Anyways," Jeff started again, "long story short, us gnomes have been lookin' for a new queen! Right, guys?" he asked the others.

The gnomes below him began reaching out for Mabel, chanting "Queen! Queen! Queen!"

Jeff laughed nervously. "So what do you say?" He tapped his foot twice, and the gnomes worked together to make Norman's body kneel down in a proposing fashion. Carson used the hand to present a ring in a box, one with a cluster of forest crystals as the diamond. Jeff clasped his hands together. "Will you join us in holy matrignomey?" he blinked, then corrected himself. "Matri...matri-mo-ny! Blah! Can't talk today!"

Mabel slowly stood up, biting her lip. "Look... I'm sorry, guys," she said, feeling a pang of guilt as Jeff's excited expression melted into a sad frown. "You're really sweet, but, I'm a girl, and you're gnomes, and it's like, 'what'?" She sighed, looking down. "Yikes..."

Jeff nodded somberly. "We understand." He said. "We'll never forget you, Mabel."

Mabel smiled. They were just cute little forest creatures. Maybe they weren't so-

"Because we're gonna kidnap you."

"Huh?" Mabel blinked.

Suddenly, the gnomes became rabid, and jumped at her, growling.

Mabel screamed. This was bad.


End file.
